Lowell school employee arrested by Homeland Security

Madalynne Iteen, 22, was arraigned Friday afternoon on a charge of producing child pornography for allegedly taking pornographic images of a child last summer.

Authorities began an investigation Monday after receiving a tip from law enforcement in Ontario, Canada.

Police in Canada arrested a suspect on child porn charges last month and have been monitoring their email accounts since. Documents say the account received a message Feb. 6 with links to folders containing pornographic images of an infant.

Investigators connected evidence to identify Iteen as the person who sent the images, which authorities say were taken last July.

Iteen was arrested Friday morning at her residence in Lowell.

Court documents say Iteen admitted to sending the images and that they were taken in the summer of 2018 at her residence.

Friday morning, Lowell Superintendent Gregory Pratt sent a letter home to parents saying a part-time employee was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security. The letter said the employee was put on administrative leave, but didn’t identify them.

In a statement, the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids said a woman who is a part-time employee in a before-and-after school programs was terminated after learning she was part of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.

The statement says the employee was immediately terminated, but didn’t identify her.

Both Pratt and the YMCA said there were no students or employees involved in the incident.

Anyone with tips on this investigation is asked to call the Department of Homeland Security at 616-235-3936, ext. 2223.